:i 


SPEECH 


WILLIAM  H.  SEWARD, 

ON  THE 

MANAGEMENT  AND  DISPOSITION 


OF  THE 


PUBLIC  DOMAIN, 


'  DELIVERED 

IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

/ 

FEBRUARY  27,  1851. 


WASHINGTON : 
BUELL  &  BLANCHARD. 

1851. 


SPEECH. 


Mr.  President  : 

The  organization  of  the  American  Republic  is  a  political 
anomaly.  Ancient  and  modern  States,  rudely  constituted  with¬ 
in  narrow  limits,  have  aggrandized  themselves  by  colonies,  and 
conquests,  while  passing  through  various  revolutions  of  govern¬ 
ment.  But  the  world  has  never  before  seen  a  State  assume  a 
perfect  organization  in  its  very  beginning,  and  extend  itself  over 
a  large  portion  of  a  great  continent,  without  conquests,  without 
colonies,  and  without  undergoing  any  change  of  constitution. 

The  success  of  Portugal  and  of  the  Netherlands  in  planting 
profitable  commercial  colonies  in  the  East  Indies,  in  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries,  stimulated  nearly  all  the  European 
States  to  attempt  to  secure  similar  advantages,  by  exploring 
and  appropriating  to  themselves  portions  of  the  New  World, 
then  known  as  the  Western  Indies.  Spain,  Britain,  and  France, 
divided  between  themselves  nearly  all  North  America.  Each 
of  these  Kingdoms,  however,  pursued  a  policy  so  rigorous  as  to 
hinder  the  growth  of  the  colonies  it  planted. 

The  United  States,  in  the  Revolution  of  1776,  supplanted 
Great  Britain  in  sovereignty  over  the  region  lying  between  the 
St.  Lawrence  and  Louisiana,  and  stretching  from  the  Atlantic 
coast  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  conquering  States,  practically  independent  of  each  other, 
were  embarrassed  by  conflicting  boundaries.  The  controversy 
was  magnanimously  ended,  by  an  agreement  that  %ach  should 
release  its  claim  of  unappropriated  territory  for  the  common  use 
and  benefit. 

New  York  led  the  way,  and  ceded  her  claims  as  well  of  a  po¬ 
litical  jurisdiction”  as  “  of  the  right  of  soil,”  “  to  be  and  inure 
to  the  use  and  benefit  of  such  of  the  United  States  as  should 
become  members  of  the  F ederal  Alliance  of  the  said  States,  and 
for  no  other  use  or  purpose  whatever.” 

Virginia  claimed  the  broad  region  lying  northwest  of  the  Ohio, 
and  relinquished  it  in  1785,  with  a  declaration  that  it  should 
“  be  considered  as  a  common  fund  for  the.  use  and  benefit  of 
such  of  the  United  States  as  have  become  or  shall  become  mem¬ 
bers  of  the  Confederation  or  F ederal  Alliance  of  the  said  States, 
(Virginia  inclusive,)  according  to  their  usual  and  respective  pro- 


» 


4 


♦ 


portions  in  the  general  charge  and  expenditure,  and  shall  be 
faithfully  and  bona  fide  disposed  of  for  that  purpose,  and  for  no 
other  use  or  purpose  whatsoever.” 

Massachusetts  soon  afterwards  released  to  the  United  States, 
u  for  their  benefit,  Massachusetts  inclusive.” 

Connecticut  conveyed  in  1786,  in  the  same  form. 

South  Carolina,  in  1787,  ceded,  u  for  the  benefit  of  the  United 
States,  South  Carolina  inclusive.” 

North  Carolina,  in  1790,  conveyed  by  a  deed  containing  the 
same  declaration  which  had  been  used  by  Virginia  ;  and  Georgia 
completed  the  title  of  the  United  States  by  a  cession  on  the  n 
same  terms,  attended  with  other  stipulations  which  are  not  now  * 
important. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  adopted  in  the  course 
of  this  great  transaction,  sanctioned  it  as  follows  :  u  The  Con¬ 
gress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of,  and  make  all  needful  rules 
and  regulations  respecting,  the  territory  or  other  property  be¬ 
longing  to  the  United  States ;  and  nothing  in  this  Constitution 
shall  be  so  construed  as  to  prejudice  any  claims  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  any  particular  State.” — Art .  14,  Sec.  8. 

The  Continental  Congress  had  previously  adopted  the  Ordi¬ 
nance  of  1787,  by  which  they  established  a  Government  in  the 
Northwestern  Territory,  and  provided  for  its  future  subdivision 
into  States.  With  a  view  to  that  great  political  purpose,  the 
Constitution  declared  that  “  New  States  may  be  admitted  by 
the  Congress  into  this  Union.” — Art.  5,  Sec.  8. 

The  purchase  of  Louisiana  from  France  in  1808,  the  acquisi¬ 
tion  of  Florida  by  a  grant  from  Spain  in  1819,  the  discovery  of 
Oregon,  and  the  recent  purchase  of  New  Mexico  and  Upper 
California,  extended  our  domain  along  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and,  from  its  head  waters,  across  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Snowy  Hills  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  aggregate  quantity  of  this  national  estate  is  fifteen  hundred 
and  eighty-four  millions  of  acres ;  of  which,  one  hundred  and 
thirty-four  millions  have  been  definitely  appropriated,  and  there 
remain,  including  appropriations  not  yet  perfected,  fourteen 
hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  acres. 

Using  only  round  numbers,  these  lands  are  distributed  among 
the  States  and  Territories,  as  follows  : 

Acres. 


In  Ohio  - 
Indiana 
Illinois 
Missouri 
Alabama 
Mississippi 
Louisiana 
Michigan 


745,000 

2,751,000 

14,060,000 

29,216,000 

17,238,000 

14,308,000 

22,854,000 

24,864,000 


5 


Arkansas 

Florida 

Iowa 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Northwest  Territory 
Oregon  T erritory  - 
Nebraska  Territory 
Indian  Territory  - 
„  California  and  Utah 
New  Mexico  - 


27,402,000 

31,801,000 

27,153,000 

26,321,000 

56,000,000 

-  376,000,000 

-  218,536,000 

87,488,000 

-  119,789,000 

-  287,162,000 

49, 727-, 000 


The  domain  came  to  the  United  States  encumbered  with  a 
right  of  possession  by  Indian  tribes,  which  is  gradually  extin¬ 
guished  by  purchase,  as  the  necessities  of  advancing  population 
require. 

At  the  establishment  of  the  Federal  Government,  the  United 
States  suffered  from  exhaustion  by  war,  and  labored  under  the 
pressure  of  a  great  national  debt,  while  they  were  obliged  to 
make  large  expenditures  for  new  institutions,  and  to  prepare  for 
defence  by  land  and  by  sea.  They  therefore  adopted  a  policy 
which  treated  the  domain  merely  as  a  fund  or  source  of  revenue. 
They  divided  it  into  townships,  sections,  and  quarter-sections, 
and  offered  it  at  public  sale,  at  a  minimum  price  of  two  dollars 
per  acre,  on  credit,  and  subsequently  at  private  sale,  on  the 
same  terms.  In  1820,  they  abolished  the  credit  system,  and 
reduced  the  price  to  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre. 
In  1833,  they  recognised  a  right  of  pre-emption  in  favor  of 
*  actual  occupants ;  and  the  system,  as  thus  modified,  still  re¬ 
mains  in  form  upon  our  statute-book.  The  United  States,  how¬ 
ever,  have,  at  different  times,  made  very  different  dispositions 
of  portions’  of  the  domain.  Thus  there  have  been  appropriated 
to  the  new  States  and  Territories,  for  purposes  of  internal  im¬ 
provement,  for  saline  reservations,  for  the  establishment  of 
seats  of  Government  and  public  buildings,  and  for  institutions 
of  education,  as  follows  : 

Acres. 


To  Ohio 
Indiana  - 
Illinois  - 
Missouri 
Alabama 
Mississippi 
Louisiana 
Michigan 
Arkansas 
Wisconsin 
Iowa 
Florida  - 


1,847,575 
2,331,690 
1,649,024 
1,793,748 
1,473,994 
1,384,944 
-•  1,332,124 

1,674,598 
1,489,220 
217,920 
46,720 
1,553,635 


6 


Besides  these  appropriations,  the  Senate  will  at  once  recall 
several  acts  of  Congress,  which  surrendered,  in  the  whole, 
seventy-nine  millions  of  acres  for  bounties  in  the  Mexican  war, 
bounties  in  the  war  of  1812,  subsequent  gratuities  to  the  sol¬ 
diers  in  the  same  war  and  in  Indian  wars,  cessions  of  swamp 
lands  to  new  States,  and  for  the  construction  of  a  railroad  from 
Chicago  to  Mobile,  and  other  internal  improvements,  none  of 
which  last-named  cessions  have  yet  been  located. 

The  aggregate  of  revenues  derived  from  the  public  domain  is  ^ 
one  hundred  and  thirty -five  millions  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine  thousand  ninety-three  dollars  and  ninety-three  cents,  show¬ 
ing  an  annual  average  revenue  of  one  and  a  quarter  million  of 
dollars  since  the  system  of  sales  was  adopted. 

Mr.  President,  I  think  the  time  is  near  at  hand  when  the 
United  States  will  find  it  expedient  to  review  their  policy,  and 
to  consider  the  following  principles  : 

First.  That  lands  shall  be  granted  in  limited  quantities, 
gratuitously,  to  actual  cultivators  only. 

Second.  That  the  possessions  of  such  grantees  shall  be 
secured  against  involuntary  alienation. 

Third.  That  the  United  States  shall  relinquish  to  the  States 
the  administration  of  the  public  lands  within  their  limits. 

These  principles,  sir,  have  no  necessary  connection.  I  shall 
therefore  discuss  them  separately. 

First.  A  gratuitous  allotment  of  lands  in  limited  quantities 
to  actual  settlers  and  cultivators  only.  This  principle  involves 
three  propositions  : 

1.  A  limitation  of  the  quantity  which  shall  be  granted  to  any 
one  person ; 

2.  Occupation  and  cultivation  as  conditions  of  the  grant ; 

3.  A  gratuitous  grant. 

First.  A  limitation  of  the  quantity  to  be  allotted  to  any  one 
person. 

If  the  public  lands  were  moveable  merchandise,  price  would 
be  the  principal,  if  not  the  only  subject  of  inquiry.  On  the  con¬ 
trary,  it  is  only  the  money  received  by  the  Government  on  sales 
that  perishes  or  passes  away.  The  lands  remain  fixed  just 
where  they  were  before  the  sale,  and  they  constitute  a  part  of 
the  territory  subject  to  municipal  administration  as  much  after 
sale  as  before.  The  possessors  of  the  land  sold  become  soon,  if 
not  immediately,  citizens,  and  they  will  ultimately  be  a  majority 
of  the  whole  population  of  the  country,  supporting  the  Govern¬ 
ment  by  their  contributions,  maintaining  it  by  their  arms,  and 
wielding  it  for  their  own  and  the  general  welfare.  To  look, 
then,  at  this  subject  merely  with  reference  to  the  revenue  that 
might  be  derived  from  the  sale  of  the  lands,  would  be  to  commit 
Ihe  fault  of  that  least  erected  spirit  that  fell  from  Heaven,  . 
whose 


,7  . 

“  Looks  and  thoughts 

W ere  always  downward  bent,  admiring  more 
The  riches  of  Heaven’s  pavement,  trodden  gold. 

Than  aught  divine,  or  holy,  else  enjoyed.” 

All  will  admit — all  do  admit — that  the  domain  should  he  so 
administered  as  to  favor  the  increase  of  population,  the  aug¬ 
mentation  of  wealth,  the  cultivation  of  virtue,  and  the  diffusion 
of  happiness. 

I  do  not  say  that  land  in  this  or  in  any  other  country  ought  to 
he  or  ever  could  be  divided  and  enjoyed  equally.  I  assert  no 
such  absurdity.  But  I  do  say,  with  some  confidence,  that  great 
inequality  of  landed  estates,  here  or  elsewhere,  tends  to  check 
population,  enterprise,  and  wealth,  and  to  hinder  and  defeat  the 
highest  interests  of  society.  Every  State  in  this  Union  recog¬ 
nises  this  principle,  and  guards  against  undue  aggregation  of 
estates  by  restraints  upon  accumulation,  by  inhibitions  of  entails, 
and  by  dividing  inheritances.  A  partition  of  this  vast  public 
domain  is  inevitable.  It  has  been  going  on  ever  since  the  lands 
were  acquired.  It  is  going  on  now.  And  it  will  go  on  here¬ 
after  with  increasing  rapidity.  That  partition  affords  us  an  op¬ 
portunity  to  apply  the  same  beneficent  and  invigorating  policy  in 
a  new  and  benign  form,  without  disturbing  any  existing  estates, 
or  interfering  with  any  vested  interests,  and  without  disturbing 
any  established  laws  or  customs. 

There  is  no  arbitrary  measurement  of  the  portion  of  land 
which  one  possessor  can  advantageously  cultivate.  Yet  there 
are,  practically,  dimensions  within  which  lands  are  held  for  that 
purpose ;  and  when  these  are  exceeded,  the  surplus  is  held  for 
purposes  of  commerce  or  speculation.  Commerce  in  the  public 
lands,  although  by  no  means  immoral,  nevertheless,  ought  to  be 
regarded  with  jealousy.  It  diverts  capital  from  active  or  pro¬ 
ductive  industry,  and  prolongs  the  period  before  the  land  pur¬ 
chased  can  be  made  fruitful.  Mortgages,  judgments,  and  acci¬ 
dents  of  insolvency  and  of  death,  render  the  title  uncertain  and 
confused,  and  thus  exclude  the  lands  from  market.  Every  one 
has  seen  in  new  countries  extensive  tracts  of  land  upon  which 
the  speculator  had  laid  his  hand,  and  thus  rendered  them  useless 
to  himself,  useless  to  the  community,  and  useless  or  nearly  so 
to  the  State.  The  want  of  some  security  against  inconve¬ 
niences  so  prejdicial  to  the  States  may  now  be  supplied  without 
producing  any  embarrassment  to  individuals  or  to  the  Gov¬ 
ernment. 

Secondly.  The  same  policy  seems  to  commend  thA principle 
of  insisting  on  permanent  occupation  and  cultivation  as  condi¬ 
tions  of  a  grant  of  any  portion  of  the  public  domain.  It  ought 
to  be  kept  open  and  available  to  those  who  seek  it  for  cultiva¬ 
tion.  It  ought  therefore  to  be  kept  free  from  absent  owners, 
who,  while  they  would  exclude  settlers,  would  leave  it  entirely 


8 


unproductive,  and  who  would  pay  to  the  State  either  nothing,  or 
at  most  a  tax  that  would  poorly  compensate  for  stamping  sterility 
upon  the  soil. 

The  same  principle  that  dictated  the  abandonment  of  the 
credit  system  in  1820  seems  to  prescribe  now  a  limitation  of  the 
sales  to  actual  settlers.  Nor  "would  the  revenue  derived  from 
sales  be  affected  by  such  a  measure.  The  price  of  the  land  is 
fixed  and  uniform.  If  more  lands  are  sold  at  one  time  under 
the  present  system  than  would  be  sold  with  such  a  limitation,  a 
rest  must  follow,  until  the  excess  of  land  sold  above  the  actual 
supply  of  the  market  shall  be  taken  off  at  a  profit  or  loss  from 
the  hand  of  the  speculator.  The  commercial  revulsion  of  1837, 
aggravated  by  wild  and  reckless  speculations  in  the  domain, 
gave  us  instructions  on  this  subject  which  ought  not  to  be 
neglected. 

The  Senator  from  Michigan,  [Mr.  Felch,]  who  has  discussed 
this  subject  with  very  great  ability,  dwells  upon  the  difficulty  of 
prescribing  the  evidence  of  occupancy  and  cultivation.  But  this 
difficulty  would  soon  be  removed  if  the  system  should  be  changed. 
A  title  might  be  withheld  until  improvements  should  be  made 
sufficient  to  prevent  a  voluntary  forfeiture. 

.  Thirdly.  The  question  of  making  the  grants  of  public 
lands  gratuitously  is  one  of  more  difficulty.  By  gratuitous 
grants  I  mean  those  which  would  be  practically  so,  and  that  the 
lands  thus  disposed  of  should  be  charged  with  the  costs  of  the. 
grant. 

The  demand  of  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre,  or 
of  two  hundred  dollars  on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixtv  acres, 
although  it  is  not  unjust,  and  although  it  may  be  necessary,  is 
nevertheless,  in  its  practical  operation,  a  tax  upon  the  privilege 
of  cultivating  the  domain.  But  the  first  and  fundamental 
interest  of  the  Republic  is  the  cultivation  of  its  soil.  That  cul¬ 
tivation  is  the  sole  fountain  of  the  capital  or  wealth  which  sup¬ 
plies  every  channel  of  industry.  The  more  it  is  taxed,  the  less 
freely  it  will  flow.  It  is  true  indeed  that,  notwithstanding  this 
tax,  labor  seeks  the  soil  within  the  new  States  and  Territories, 
and  that  society  advances  there  with  a  rapidity  unparalleled. 
But  it  is  equally  true  that  the  tax  prevents  the  immigration  of 
a  very  large  mass  of  persons  who  are  destitute  of  employment 
in  the  Eastern  States,  while  it  rejects  even  a  greater  mass  of 
cultivators  in  Europe.  We  are  competitors  with  the  European 
States  in  agriculture  and  in  manufactures.  They  have  the  ad¬ 
vantages  of  cheaper  labor  and  greater  capital.  We  ought 
therefore  to  invite  here  the  labor  necessary  to  augment  our  pro¬ 
ductions,  and  the  industry  and  skill  required  to  prepare  them 
for  internal  and  foreign  commerce.  Can  it  be  doubtful  for  a 
moment  that  it  is  our  policy  to  bring  the  manufacturer  to  our 


9 


own  shores,  and  to  invite  the  farmer  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
artisan  from  our  own  unproductive  lands  ? 

Commercial  supremacy  ^  demands  just  such  an  agricultural 
basis  as  the  fertile  and  extensive  regions  of  the  United  States, 
when  inhabited,  will  supply.  Political  supremacy  follows  com¬ 
mercial  ascendency.  It  was  b}r  reason  of  the  want  of  just  such 
an  agricultural  basis,  that  Venice,  Portugal,  and  Holland,  suc¬ 
cessively  lost  commerce  and  empire.  It  was  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  just  such  a  basis,  that  France,  England,  and  Spain, 
seized  so  eagerly  and  held  so  tenaciously  the  large  portions  of 
this  continent  which  they  respectively  occupied.  It  w*as  for  the 
purpose  of  supplying  the  loss  of  this  basis,  that  England  has 
within  the  last  seventy  years  extended  her  conquests  over  a  large 
portion  of  India. 

We  now  possess  this  basis,  and  all  that  we  need  is  to  develop 
its  capabilities  as  fully  and  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Nor  ought 
we  to  overlook  another  great  political  interest.  Mutual  jeal¬ 
ousies  delayed  a  long  time  the  establishment  of  the  Union  of 
these  States,  and  have  ’ever  since  threatened  its  dissolution:  It 
is  apparent  that  the  ultimate  security  for  its  continuance  is 
found  m  the  power  of  the  States  established,  and  hereafter  to  be 
established,  on  the  public  domain.  Those  new  and  vigorous 
communities  continually  impart  new  life  to  the  entire  Common¬ 
wealth,  while  the  absolute  importance  of  free  access  to  the 
Ocean  will  secure  their  loyalty,  even  if  the  fidelity  of  the  At¬ 
lantic  States  shall  fail.  Such  as  these,  sir,  may  have  been  some 
of  the  considerations  that  induced  Andrew  Jackson  so  long  ago 
to  declare  his  opinion,  that  the  time  was  not  distant  when  the 
public  domain  ought  to  cease  to  be  regarded  as  a  source  of  rev¬ 
enue.  Such  considerations  may  have  had  some  influence  with 
the  late  distinguished  Senator  from  South  Carolina,  [J.  C.  Cal¬ 
houn,]*  to  propose  a  release  of  the  public  domain  to  the  States, 
on  their  paying  a  small  per  centum  of  revenue  to  the  United 
States  ;  and  we  are  at  liberty  to  suppose  that  a  course  of  reason¬ 
ing  not  entirely  unlike  this  brought  that  eminent  statesman,  who 
is  now  Secretary  of  State,  to  propose  here  a  year  ago  a  gratui¬ 
tous  appropriation  of  the  public  domain  to  actual  settlers. 

Nevertheless,  the  practicability  of  such  a  policy,  and  its  har¬ 
mony  with  other  national  interests,  are  as  yet  by  no  means  gen¬ 
erally  admitted.  The  first  objection  which  it  encounters  is  the 
economical  one,  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  give  away  the  pub¬ 
lic  lands.  But  the  property  given  would  remain  with  the  giver 
after  the  gift,  and  wTould  be  enhanced  in  usefulness  by  the  gift. 
All  that  we  should  give  away  by  surrendering  the  public  do¬ 
main  would  be  the  revenue  that  might  be  derived  from  sales. 
The  honorable  Senator  from  Michigan  pathetically  asks,  what 
new  fountain  shall  be  opened  to  supply  the  deficiency,  if  this 
one  be  closed  1  And  has  it  come  to  this,  sir  :  that  the  Federal 


10 


Government,  charged  with  only  the  burdens  of  national  defence, 
of  commerce,  and  of  arbitrament  between  the  States,  while  abso¬ 
lutely  relieved  from  all  responsibilities  of  municipal  and  domestic 
administration,  yet  enjoying  unlimited  power  of  indirect  as  well 
as  of  even  direct  taxation,  cannot  sustain  itself  in  a  season  of 
profound  peace,  without  consuming  the  patrimony  of  the  States  ? 
Sir,  I  answer  the  Senator’s  inquiry  :  The  resource  to  supply 
the  deficiency  of  a  million  and  a  quarter  of  dollars  will  be  found 
in  retrenchment  of  the  expenses  of  administration. 

A  Senator.  Will  this  Government  ever  retrench?  Does 
the  Senator  from  New  York  expect  this  Government  to  re¬ 
trench  ? 

•Mr.  Seward.  No,  sir;  not*while  the  revenue  remains  full. 
Reduce  the  revenue  a  million  and  a  quarter,  or  even  five  mil¬ 
lions,  and  you  will  find  the  expenses  of  the  Government  accom¬ 
modate  themselves  to  the  reduction.  Raise  the  revenue  to  a 
hundred  millions,  and  you  will  find  the  expenses  adjust  them¬ 
selves  to  that  standard.  Sir,  if  you  are  ever  to  have  retrench¬ 
ment,  you  must  begin  with  reducing  taxation.  And  where  can 
you  begin  so  well  as  with  the  taxation  upon  the  privilege  of  cul¬ 
tivating  the  national  estate  ?  But,  sir  we  shall  have  no  such 
deficiency  of  revenue  to  supply.  Alarms  of  an  exhausted  treas¬ 
ury  are  continually  sounded  here,  while  the  revenues  received 
under  a  system  of  imposts,  which  in  many  respects  is  most 
unwise,  annually  exceed  all  estimates  of  administration.  Last 
year,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  predicted  a  deficiency  of 
sixteen  millions  of  dollars,  and  yet  no  deficiency  at  all  occurred. 
The  revenues  for  the  present  year  are  equally  prosperous  ;  and 
they  will  never  be  less  prosperous  while  we  are  at  peace,  as  I 
hope  we  shall  always  be,  for  the  wealth  and  industry  of  the 
country  are  constantly  increasing  and  expanding.  I  knpw,  in¬ 
deed,  that  revenue  is  liable  to  be  affected  by  fluctuations  of 
trade ;  but  such  disturbances  are  only  occasional  and  tempo¬ 
rary^ 

t-' 

The  Senator  from  Michigan  exaggerates  the  prodigality  of 
what  he  calls  the  giving  away  of  the  domain,  by  stating  that  it 
cost  seventy-five  millions. of  dollars — equivalent  to  twenty-two 
cents  per  acre,  or  thirty-two  dollars  and  twenty  cents  for  each 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  And  from  such  premises 
as  these  he  argues  that  it  would  cost  thirty-five  millions  of  dol¬ 
lars  to  give  away  the  public  lands  lying  in  Wisconsin,  Iowa, 
Michigan,  Missouri,  and  Minnesota.  Sir,  I  do  not  understand 
exactly  the  basis  of  the  Senator’s  estimate  of  the  cost  of  the 
domain,  but  I  can  nevertheless  safely  pronounce  his  speculations 
entirely  fallacious.  If  the  cost  of  the  revolutionary  war,  the 
cost  of  the  long  controversy  with  France  which  ended  in  the 
purchase  of  Louisiana,  the  cost  of  all  the  Indian  wars,  and  the 
cost  of  the  late  war  with  Mexico,  all  of  which  were  in  some 


11 


degree  connected  with  the  acquisition  of  the  public  domain,, 
should  be  included  in  the  estimate,  the  entire  cost  of  the  public 
lands  would  be  seven  hundred  millions,  instead  of  seventy-five 
millions  of  dollars.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  expense. account 
be  credited  with  all  the  national  benefits — financial,  commercial, 
and  political — which  have  been  secured,  the  domain  would  be 
discharged  from  all  indebtedness  whatever  to  the  Treasury. 

Sir,-  the  acquisition  of  the  domain,  whatever  was  its  cost,  is  a 
transaction  completed,  ended,  past.  Its  value  is  what  it  is  worth 
now,  not  what  it  cost. 

Mr.  President, .  the  question  of  such  a  disposition  of  the-pub- 
lic  lands  as  I  have  suggested  is  entirely  misapprehended.  It  is 
not  wdiether  we  shall  relinquish  a  revenue  of  a  million  and  a 
quarter.  The  revenue  has  ceased,  and  the  fountain  from  which 
it  flowed  is  dried  up  already. 

We  have  by  various  acts,  passed  within  the  last  ten  years, 
given  up  seventy-eight  millions  nine  hundred  and  thirty-two 
thousand  five  hundred  and  thirteen  acres,  which  are  now  in  mar¬ 
ket  and  coming  into  market,  and  which  must  be  taken  off  from 
the  hands  of  States  and  individuals  before  our  own  sales  can  be 
renewed.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  assures  us  that  the 
revenue  from  the  public  domain  is  suspended  by  this  legislation 
for  a  period  of  sixteen  years. 

Sir,  a  revenue  that  is  suspended  for  sixteen  years  has  practi¬ 
cally  ceased  forever.  The  Senator  from  Michigan,  perplexed 
with  this  argument,  reviews  the  Treasury. estimates,  and  reduces 
the  period  of  exhaustion  to  eight  years. 

Sir,  I  say,  then,  to  the  Senator,  that  he  has  not  changed  the 
case.  A  national  revenue  that  is  suspended  for  eight  years  has  * 
practically  ceased  forever.  But,  sir,  neither  the  Senator  from 
Michigan,  nor  even  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  has  estimated 
the  period  of  exhaustion  at  its  full  length.  Congress  is  annually 
making  new  appropriations.  The  Senate  has  at  this  session 
passed  an  act  disposing  of  ten  millions  of  acres.  We  all  hope 
that  that  act  will  become  a  law,  although  its  effect  would  be  to 
add  at  least  five  years  to  the  term  for  which  the  revenue  from 
the  domain  is  suspended.  Let  us  then  apprehend  the  emergency 
as  it  is,  and  act  accordingly.  The  domain  no  longer  yields,  nor 
will  never  again  yield,  a  revenue.  Since  its  financial  benefits 
have  ceased,  let  us  no  longer  dispose  of  it  by  impulse  and 
caprice,  not  to  say  by  partiality  or  favor,  but  let  us  so  dispose- 
of  it  as  to  secure  political  and  social  benefits  to  the  whole  Union. 

It  is  objected  that  the  domain  is  pledged  to  public  creditors. 
The  debt  charged  upon  the  domain  is  §27,935,350 — a  debt 
which  is  rapidly  diminishing-,  and,  if  we  practice  economy,  will 
have  disappeared,  by  the  appliance  of  revenues  from  customs 
alone,  long  before  the  public  domain  will  yield  a  dollar,  for  even 
the  payment  of  the  interest  on  it.  But  if  it  be  necessary  to  hold 


12 


the  public  domain  liable  for  the  debt,  we  may  properly  set  apart 
sufficient  lands  for  that  purpose,  and  let  the  residue  be  disposed 
of  as  other  interests  require. 

The  Senator  from  Michigan  resisted  the  policy  proposed,  on 
the  ground  that  it  would  reduce  the  value  of  real  estate  in  the 
new  States.  It  has  been  urged  that  that  inconvenience  would 
also  reach  the  old  States.  The  inconvenience,  Mr.  President, 
if  it  should  occur  at  all,  would  be  merely  temporary.  *  The 
reclaiming  of  the  domain  would  go  on  more  rapidly ;  and  we  all 
know  that  cultivated  as  well  as  vacant  lands  rise  in  value  just 
as  rapidly  as  new  lands  lying  amongst  or  adjacent  to  them  are 
improved.  What  'would  be  lost  in  the  first  instance,  would  be 
abundantly  regained  afterwards. 

There  is,  however,  Mr.  President,  one  objection  of  a  more 
serious  nature  than  any  I  have  yet  considered.  I  hear  it  said 
oh  all  sides,  that  the  domain  ought  to  be  disposed  for  great  and 
beneficent  objects — objects  beneficial  to  the  old  as  well  as  to  the 
new  States.  Sir,  I  have  always  favored  such  a  policy;  and  it 
is  upon  that  ground  that  I  have  cheerfully  voted  hitherto,  as  I 
shall  continue  to  vote  hereafter,  for  appropriations  upon  that 
principle,  so  long  as  Congress  shall  continue  to  adhere  even  in 
form  to  the  ancient  system.  It  is  upon  this  ground  that  I  shall 
support  the  bill  now  under  consideration,  which  proposes  to 
bestow  upon  the  State  of  Louisiana  the  public  lands  within  her 
limits,  to  enable  her  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the  Missis¬ 
sippi — a  policy  that  I  brought  before  the  Senate  at  the  last 
session — a  measure  of  great  urgency,  and  of  conceded  national 
importance.  I  have  had,  moreover,  a  hope  that  this  great 
‘resource  might  be  applied  to  the  establishment  of  a  system  for 
the  gradual  but  certain  removal  of  slavery,  by  a  scheme  of  com¬ 
pensating  emancipation.  I  have  thought  that  the,  slaveholding 
States  might  wisely  propose  such  a  system,  and  that  the  free 
States  ought  to  accede  to  it.  But,  sir,  it  is  manifest  that  if  the 
old  States  could  not  agree  upon  such  a  system,  or  even  upon  any 
other  system  of  partition  of  the  public  domain  among  the  States, 
or  of  distribution,  of  its  proceeds,  while  they  held  unquestioned 
the  political  power  of  Government,  they  cannot  now  hope  to 
agree  upon  and  secure  the  adoption  of  such  a  system,  when  that 
power  is  actually  passing  over  from  them  to  the  new  States. 
The  new  States  will  control  the  decision  of  this  great  question. 
We  may,  nevertheless,  by  yielding  to  what  is  inevitable,  modify 
the  policy  to  be  adopted. 

I  submitted,  Mr.  President,  a  second  principle,  to  wit :  that 
the  public  lands,  so  to  be  granted  to  actual  settlers,  ought  to  be 
secured  to  them  against  involuntary  alienation. 

I  respect  all  lawful  contracts,  and  I  would  not  unnecessarily 
interfere  with  even  rigorous  remedies  which  existed  when  such 
contracts  were  made.  But  it  is  wise  as  it  is  just  and  humane 


13 


to  alleviate  prospectively  the  relations  between  debtor  and  cred¬ 
itor.  Within  the  last  twenty  years,  imprisonment  for  debt,  a 
system  which  had  prevailed  for  more  than  two  thousand  years 
before,  has  been  safely  abolished  by  every  State  in  this  Union, 
and  I  believe  by  every  commercial  nation  in  Europe.  New  York, 
the  most  commercial  State,  has  with  equal  safety  abolished  the 
rigorous  remedy  of  distress  for  rent,  and  has  exempted  certain 
portions  of  estates  from  liability  to  sale  for  debts  contracted 
after  such  laws  were  passed.  Other  States  have  adopted  the 
policy  of  protecting  the  homestead  "from  compulsory  sale.  A 
home  is  the  first  necessity  of  every  family  ;  it  is  indispensable  to 
the  education  and  qualification  of  citizens.  Cannot  society  justly 
withdraw  it  from  the  hazards  of  commercial  contracts,  and  from 
exposure  to  the  accidents  of  disease  and  death?  We  bestow 
pensions  upon  decayed  soldiers  who  have  faithfully  served  their 
country  in  her  wars ;  we  protect  such  annuities  against  involun¬ 
tary  assignment;  and  the  policy  is  as  wise  as  it  is  generous. 
But  he  who  reclaims  an  acre  of  land  from  the  sterility  of  nature, 
and  brings  it  into  a  productive  condition,  confers  a  greater  ben¬ 
efit  upon  the  State  than  valor  has  often  the  power  to  bestow  ► 
Sir,  all  that  is  moveable  in  property  may  be  used  as  a  security 
for  credits — and  that  security  is  adequate  to  supply  all  the 
wants  of  commerce.  The  home  of  the  farmer,  the  asylum  of  the 
children  of  the  Republic,  may  be  safely  reserved  and  protected. 

There  remains,  Mr.  President,  a  third  principle,  which,  I 
think,  demands  the  consideration  of  Congress,  wdiich  is :  That 
the  administration  of  the  public  lands  within  the  States  should 
be  relinquished  to  them. 

It  has  been  sufficiently  shown,-  that  the  United  States  can  no 
longer  derive  any  financial  benefit  from  the  domain.  They  can 
at  best  hope  to  appropriate  it  to  purposes  of  internal  improve¬ 
ment  and  education.  Experience  has  taught  us  nothing,  if  it 
has  not  shown  that  the  action  of  Congress  upon  those  interests 
is  less  judicious  and  beneficent  than  thfe  action  of  the  several 
States.  Of  all  the  railroads,  canals,  andfother  works  of  internal 
improvement — of  all  the  universities,  colleges,  and  schools,  in 
the  country,  the  States  are,  almost  exclusively,  the  projectors, 
founders,  and  patrons.  To  maintain  that  the  United  States  can 
select  .such  objects,  and  apply  the  public  lands  to  the  attainment 
of  them,  more  wisely  than  the  States  could  do,  is  to  controvert 
the  principle  of  our  Constitution,  which  assigns  domestic  inter¬ 
ests  and  -affairs  to  local  administration.  Sir,  we  have  only  a 
temporary  jurisdiction  and  a  temporary  estate  in  the  domain — 
both  of  which'  are  of  brief  duration,  and  comparatively  valueless. 
The  reversion  of  both  belongs  to  the  States,  and  is  infinitely 
important  to  them.  It  is  not  until  that  reversion  has  taken 
place  that  the  domain  really  begins  to  contribute  to  the  wealth 
and  strength  of  the  whole  Republic. 


14 


Nor  am  I  greatly  embarrassed  by  the  objection  that  the  new 
States  would  derive  an  unequal  share  of  the  benefits  from  what 
is  justly  called  a  u  common  estate.”  If  all  the  public  lands  lying 
within  their  limits  were  released  to  them,  they  would  still  be 
inferior  to  the  older  States  in  the  advantages  of  capital,  labor, 
and  commercial  position.  Every  dollar  of  revenue  which  we 
should  release,  would  remain  within  the  new  States,  enhancing 
their  ability  to  construct  channels  of  trade,  and  to  found  systems 
of  education — while  their  own  increasing  wealth  and  prosperity 
W'ould  equally  increase  the  wealth  and  prosperity  of  the  old 
States,  with  whom  they  are  intimately  related  and  indissolubly 
connected. 

The  Senator  from  Michigan  is  alarmed  with  apprehensions 
that  the  simplicity  and  certainty  of  titles  would  be  put  in  jeop¬ 
ardy,  by  a  transfer  of  the  public  lands  to  the  States.  But,  sir,  our 
machinery  of  title,  which  is  so  perfect,  could  be  at  once  transferred 
to  the  States,  and  they  could  operate  it  writh  increased  efficiency, 
and  with  economy,  which  is  unknown  to  us.  No  one  could 
defend  for  a  moment  the  principle  that  the  F ederal  Government 
ought  to  retain  the  domain,  with  all  its  expenses  of  administra¬ 
tion,  for  the  mere  purpose  of  conferring  titles  in  it,  upon  the 
citizens  of  the  States. 

The  possession  of  the  domain,  moreover,  creates  relations  of 
landlord  and  tenant,  of  patronage  and  dependency  between  the 
Government  and  the  States,  injurious  to  both.  This  has  been 
an  inconvenience  hitherto  unavoidable,  and  it  ought  to  be  con¬ 
tinued  no  longer  than  shall  be  required  by  a  paramount  national 
interest. 

I  shall  consider,  Mr.  President,  very  briefly,  the  power  of 
Congress  in  the  premises.  So  far  as  the  Constitution  is  con¬ 
cerned,  I  shall  pass  by  all  commentaries  and  all  glosses,  and 
take  my  stand  upon  the  simple  text — u  The  Congress  shall  have 
power  to  dispose  of,  and  make  all  needful  rules  and  regulations 
respecting,  the  territory  and  other  property  belonging  to  the 
United  States.”  The® power  of  disposition  thus  conferred  is 
general,  unlimited,  absolute.  It  is  the  same  powrer  that  Con¬ 
gress  has  to  dispose  of  forts,  magazines,  arsenals,  edifices,  or 
ships.  They  have  power  to  sell.  They  have  power  to  give. 
Of  course  the  power  should  be  exercised  in  this  as  in  all  other 
cases,  for  the  best  interests  of  the  nation,  but  the  discretion  of 
Congress  is  not  abridged. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  supposed  limitations  in  the  deeds  of 
cession ;  for  the  rights  of  the  States  are  secured  by  the  Consti¬ 
tution.  There  are  several  grants  which,  it  has  been  seen,  are 
expressed  in  different  forms.  It  is  not  the  form  employed  in 
any  one  of  the  grants,  but  the  general  spirit  and  effect  of  them 
all,  that  explain  and  define  the  power  conveyed.  New  York, 
Massachusetts,  and  Connecticut,  released,  by  language  broad 


15 

and  comprehensive.  They  conveyed  u  for  the  benefit  of  the 
United  States.” 

Virginia  and  other  States  amplified,  but  manifestly  for  the 
purpose  of  expressing  the  same  meaning  more  fully.  They  grant¬ 
ed  u  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  United  States,”  and  declared 
that  the  estate  and  jurisdiction  conferred  should  u  be  considered 
as  a  common  fund  of  all  the  States,  according  to  their  usual  respec¬ 
tive  proportions  in  the  general  charge  and  expenditure,  and  should 
be  faithfully  and  bona  fide  disposed  of  for  that- purpose,  and  for 
no  other  purpose  whatsoever.”  This  language  was  adopted  with 
reference  to  the  then  existing  Articles  of  Confederation,  under 
which  the  States  were  charged  with  contributions  for  the  sup¬ 
port  of  the  F ederal  Government,  which  system  was  afterwards 
modified  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  so  as  to  dispense 
with  contributions  from  the  States,  and  invest  Congress  with 
power  of  taxation  upon  imposts,  and  of  direct  taxation,  accord¬ 
ing  to  representative  population.  Certainly  the  terms  of  these 
grants  were  not  intended  to  confine  Congress  to  a  disposition 
of  the  lands  by  sale  only  :  Because,  first,  they  expressed  no  such 
thing ;  and  because,  secondly,  the  political  jurisdiction,  as  well 
as  the  right  of  soil,  were  included  in  the  designation  of  u  a  com¬ 
mon  fund.” 

Again  :  It  would  be  practically  impossible,  under  any  system 
whatever,  to  secure  equal  benefits  from  the  domain  to  all  the 
States.  If  you  sell  the  lands  in  Ohio,  you  may  divide  the  avails 
between  that  State  and  all  her  sister  States,  but  the  land  will 
still  remain,  yielding  power  and  wealth,  directly  to  the  State, 
forever  ;  while  the  other  States  can  be  only  indirectly  recipients 
of  such  benefits. 

What  was  intended  then  was  simply  this  :  that  whatever  dis¬ 
position  Congress  should  make  of  the  domain,  should  be  one 
purely  national  and  impartial.  It  seems  to  me  to  mean  noth¬ 
ing  more,  and  the  Constitution  expresses  that  meaning  fully.  If, 
then,  the  adoption  of  such  principles  ^1  have  discussed  has 
become  necessary  already,  or  shall  hereafter  become  necessary, 
the  policy  would  then  be  a  proper  exercise  of  the  constitutional 
power,  and  would  fall  within  the  trust  as  defined  by  the  deeds  of 
cession. 

•  This  is  a  subject  of  vast  importance.  It*  reaches  across  the 
whole  basis  of  the  great  empire  which  is  rising  on  this  Conti¬ 
nent,  and  forward  through  all  the  stages  of  its  elevation,  and 
even  of  its  decline  and  fall,  if  it  shall  not  be  perpetual.  Posterity 
x  and  perhaps  the  civilized  world  will  review  our  decisions  in  the 
light  reflected  on  them  by  their  broad  and  lasting  consequences. 
May  they  be  such  as  will  safely  abide  so  severe  and  so  impartial 
a  scrutiny. 


